RTX Red Rock

by LucasArts

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00007UHNW
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: June 17, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,090 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Manufacturer's Description

RTX: Red Rock is set one hundred years from now, when brutal alien invaders have captured Red Rock, our colony on Mars. Military leaders summon a Radical Tactics Expert (RTX), specially trained in the art of one-man warfare to settle the score. That's you--Wheeler, a samurai of the future. Using your synthetic arm and special eye sensor with enhanced capabilities, you will battle across Martian deserts, through ruined outposts and into the interior of alien ships. All you've got for company in your digital assistant, over a dozen exotic weapons and a variety of robots that you can control. It's the ultimate adventure on the farthest frontier.

Product Description

RADICAL TACTICS EXPERT2103. One hundred years from now brutal alien invaders have captured Red Rock our colony on Mars. Military leaders summon a Radical Tactics Expert (RTX) specially trained in the art of one-man warfare to settle the score. That's you - Wheeler - a samurai of the future. Using your synthetic arm and special eye sensor with enhanced capabilities you will battle across Martian deserts through ruined outposts and into the interior of alien ships. All you've got for company is your digital assistant over a dozen exotic weapons and a variety of robots that you can control. It's the ultimate adventure on the farthest frontier. Take on an alien single-handed and guide Wheeler through ten intense missions to save Red Rock from destruction. Use your synthetic eye to scan for hidden danger and game clues in four different spectra. Control multiple robots drive rovers and fly alien spacecraft as you explore the varied terrain and settlements of mars. Smash the invaders with deadly powers of your synthetic arm equipped with a taser a grappling hook and a grenade launcher or recover alien weapons to use against them. Take time out for death matches and robot races in two player split-screen multiplayer action.Format: PLAYSTATION II Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 023272661359 Manufacturer No: 66135

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unsung Title That's Actually Not Too Bad, December 17, 2009

By 

Timothy Beaulieu "the One" (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: RTX Red Rock (Video Game)

Y'know, there are some games that you go into with low expectations, either because they've run the gamut of bad reviews or because you've never actually heard of them until you see them on the shelves at the store. Some games just aren't advertised in any meaningful manner. RTX: Red Rock falls into the latter category. A lot of times I prefer it this way, because then I don't have to 'unlearn' any preconceived notions and can start off fresh. I saw this game on the shelf, thought to myself "hmmm...", took it home and was surprisingly pleased with the experience. The feel I get when I play RTX: Red Rock reminds me a lot of the Saturday morning cartoons I used to watch as a kid in the late '70s and early '80s.

GAMEPLAY-5 Stars
I would characterize RTX as a free-roaming platformer. It features a 'go anywhere' environment (where it would apply) and the nature of the things to do in the adventure prompts you to explore every nook and cranny of your surroundings. It's also more than just a shooter. The aliens are the enemy and that's the only interaction you have with them -blowing them to bits- but there are also compatriots who were stranded during the initial invasion that you have to help during the course of your mission. Some take an active role, corresponding with you to accomplish certain mission objectives. With others (and this is why you really have to explore each section), the only thing you do is, with the help of a device you acquire early on, render the crewmembers down to digital form and store them for later rescue.

There are also sections that are blocked off in some way and the only way to overcome these obstacles is to enter cyberspace to trip up some programming code or to download your companion AI into some form of hardware (such as a crane or a robot body to access otherwise unapproachable areas. The rendition it uses for cyberspace is a little simplistic; you play a flickering point of light traversing the length of a circuit line and trying to avoid other flickering lights and lightning symblols, but it's no worse than any other game I've played including those elements.

RTX adds other additional elements to the mix to make it more than your typical shooter. There are store kiosks scattered throughout each base where you can purchase supplies with money you accrue here and there, such as food and oxygen tanks for your outdoor forays. You also get to pilot some vehicles on certain levels.

Due to a prior accident, one of your eyes and an arm have been replaced with cybernetic prostheses and these grant you certain abilities (different vision modes, weapons and a grappling hook) that aid you in accomplishing your objectives. Some of these capabilities are with you at the onset, while others are picked up on the way.

Now, I like video games. I just happen to be all that GOOD at them, and that's why I found the difficulty level to be decent enough. The only sections that really tripped me up were the cyberspace levels. Also, the air canisters you collect only last for a few seconds at a time after you pick them up, so you're constrained from sightseeing for any length of time outside. That gets a little annoying (I do like exploring things just to see the scenery), but it IS a game, and the rationalization I use is that, with an environmental suit that slips over you on the fly, it's only designed for short stints. Quick useless fact: the current space suits used by NASA are VERY high maintenance, requiring 20 hours of upkeep for every hour of use.

STORY-5 Stars
You play an operative for the Radical Tactics eXpert branch of the government. Basically, you're a troubleshooter trained to deal with any kind of situation that crops up offworld. What's happened in this particular instance is that Red Rock, humanity's Martian research and mining base, has been overrun by alien invaders, the LEDs, and you've been sent to assess the situation and repel the invasion. Along for the ride is your trusty AI companion and friend (who definitely has a personality of 'her' own). Along the way, you discover something far more ancient buried in the ruins, which might be why the LEDs have invaded, that could end up being a potential ally in the fight.

The theme for this game IS serious, but it's presented in an almost light-hearted way (that's why it reminds me of those cartoon shows on Saturdays). It's not a game specifically for kids, but it's one that parents shouldn't be worried about letting their children play. It's also complex enough to keep a thinking person engaged. It does get a little slow at times, so for you adrenaline junkies that constantly need action to be entertained, you've been warned.

SOUND-5 Stars
The voice acting is of high-caliber and it fits well with the cartoonish nature of the game. Being published by Lucasarts, there is no dialogue that might corrupt young impressionable people.

The music fits the theme of RTX to the letter. You're on Mars, alone, roaming abandoned bases and desert wastes. There's hardly anyone around. The pace during most of the game isn't fast and the score reflects that. It does become a little more frantic during the fights, but for the most part, it successfully conveys the desolation that is the Red Planet.

GRAPHICS-5 Stars
The graphics, by and large, are pretty good considering the technical specifications of the PS2 (the PS2 has a 295 Megahertz processor, 32 Megabytes of RAM and 4 Megabytes of video memory clocking in at about 147 Megahertz). There is a little bit of drop in the framerate when there's a lot of stuff on the screen, but only in certain sections of the bases you visit. Usually, it's pretty smooth.

The artwork of the bases, vehicles and equipment appears to be directly taken from designs currently on the drawing board with the various space agencies of the world, so I give it a few points for not being too outlandish and 'flashy'. Everything looks like it actually could work. There's also quite a bit of cluttter that you might expect to find scattered about.

REPLAY-4 Stars
The replay value depends on whether you're the type of person that keeps their interest in doing things more than once, like if you get something different each time you watch a movie or can play a game several times through without getting bored. There is no online play, but at the time RTX: Red Rock was on the market, multiplayer activity was mainly constrained to PC games, so I can't really take points off for that.

OVERALL-5 Stars
With a average play time of about 15 to 20 hours (for ME anyway; I told you guys I wasn't that good at playing these things), RTX gives you enough to do and enough to discover to merit some time with, and might actually be worth going through more than once. The extras option menu also contains a section to enter any cheat codes you might find and a cute little outtake reel. That's worth a few chuckles.

Two Thumbs Up.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth even a second of your time, January 18, 2008

By 

C. Jensen (Prineville, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: RTX Red Rock (Video Game)

This game totally sucks, the only reason I bought it was because it was super cheap. Don't waste any of your time or money on this complete piece of garbage.